Ken Borland

The South African Open has an exciting new venue in Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate and a long-term sponsor in Investec, a great friend of the Sunshine Tour, as the second-oldest national open in the world unveiled the details of the 2022 event.

The 112^th edition of the SA Open will be held in early December, with the exact dates still being negotiated with the DP World Tour, and Investec will be title sponsors for the next four years, putting up a minimum prize fund of $1.5 million this year. The financial services company are now the patrons of both men’s and women’s national opens, over and above their support of four leading female professionals and the Sunshine Tour Transformation Class.

Blair Atholl, north of Johannesburg, is the former farm of Gary Player, who won the SA Open a record 13 times, and he designed the course which, at 7527 metres is one of the longest in the world. Water features on 11 of the holes and its closing stretch is considered particularly tough.

“It’s very exciting that the SA Open is back on the DP World Tour schedule after taking a big hit last year because of the pandemic and the world shutting South Africa down,” Sunshine Tour commissioner Thomas Abt told The Citizen on Monday.

“The second-oldest national open deserves to be on the DP World Tour and it’s very exciting to have Investec on board, their investment in golf is very positive.

“Blair Atholl is a new venue, but it has prestige, history and heritage. We had the Blair Atholl Championship there last year and they have an eagerness to bring the tournament there and show what they can do.

“It’s a wonderful layout, a big course and there is lots of space for spectators and activations. Investec’s slogan is ‘Out of the Ordinary’ and they wanted to change it up and do something that is not the norm,” Abt said.

Last year’s SA Open was only a Sunshine Tour event, with Danie van Tonder triumphing at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City.

Blair Atholl certainly passed its test as a venue for professional golf last October, a blustery, shifting wind blowing between the rocky hills of the Magaliesburg and through the Crocodile River Valley to add to the challenge. Apart from its sheer length, the layout requires long and accurate shots and precise game-management.

The new T20 Global League to be held in South Africa at the end of the year will have the most cosmopolitan feel of any of the T20 tournaments around the world as team owners from five different countries were unveiled at a function in an upmarket Knightsbridge hotel in London on Monday.

Cricket South Africa’s desire for the bulk of the franchises to be locally-owned has played second fiddle to the rewards of big overseas investment, with the eight team owners coming from Pakistan (2), India (2), Hong Kong and Dubai. The two teams based in Pretoria and Stellenbosch will have South African owners.

“It’s really important that there is local investment from a South African point of view, but the foreign interest means we’ll be playing in front of much bigger audiences. It places a much bigger emphasis on South African cricket, especially for our domestic players. It should keep most of our players in the country now because the T20 Global League provides a huge step forward in terms of opportunity and financially,” Proteas captain Faf du Plessis, who will be playing for the Stellenbosch franchise, said at the launch.

There are drawbacks, however, that come with the overseas investment, with the foreign team-owners having no real answer to questions about transformation imperatives.

Both the Pakistani team owners – their teams will be based in Durban and Benoni – spoke about T20 cricket being the answer to the problems besetting their game. Even though Pakistan’s memorable Champions Trophy triumph at the weekend had London’s large cricket fanbase abuzz, their game is still faced with the problems of not being able to host any games due to security concerns.

The Pakistan Super League has attracted some overseas players back and both Fawad Rana (Durban) and Javed Afridi (Benoni) spoke about their involvement in the T20 Global League improving the image of cricket in their troubled country.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-gauteng/20170620/282759176664564